It’s a new financial year here in Australia, a chance to grow, improve, and succeed. Like always, there are known and unknown elements that will present challenges along the way, but with an optimistic outlook, you have a chance to take some big steps forward. From speaking to our clients, we understand the common desire to grow, and with our ageing population, aged care is hardly a shrinking market. For those organisations that can adequately prepare for growth and take advantage of the opportunities that come their way, the upsides are significant.

Selecting a new ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution can be a large undertaking. There are many factors that need to be considered, and there is a lot on the line–for both the business’ potential for growth, and the people overseeing the selection process. It is very important that the selection process offers evidence of due diligence. But how do you know what that due diligence is? What are some of the processes that can help ensure you are getting what you need out of the selection process?

In its discussion paper titled Let’s talk about quality the Australian Government’s Aged Care Quality Agency (AACQA) made steps to establish and promote ideas of quality to providers of aged care services. This can have several perceived knock-on effects for your aged care software selection. As a key facilitator of aged care services, your software solution is a serious investment in your ongoing success.

Technology moves at the blink of an eye. Last week we were addicted to space invaders, yesterday we got dial up in the office, and today our kids want virtual reality headsets for their smartphones. Well, it feels like that anyway. When the future manages to keep serving up such amazing technological advances, it is important that the choices you make today, don’t serve to place unnecessary restrictions on your organisation in the years to come.

In this age of innovation, how can organisations position themselves to promote future growth? As a substantial source of insight, your employees are responsible for both implementing business processes and contributing to ongoing business intelligence. So when implementing a new ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution, effective training can contribute positively to business outcomes and potential for future growth.

Manufacturing in Australia and New Zealand gets a pretty tough wrap. Sure, there are competitive forces from international manufacturers which continue to pose significant challenges for our industry, but I believe there is plenty to keep our industry buoyant about the future.